The Boat Ride
by VikkiHeat
Summary: Audrey/Duke. Mentions of Nathan. Duke takes Audrey out on a boat ride and it gives her time to think about the two new men in her life and her new home. One shot. Reviews are appreciated.


The Boat Ride

_Summary: Audrey/Duke. Mentions of Nathan. Duke takes Audrey out on a boat ride and it gives her time to think about the two new men in her life and her new home. Oneshot._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Haven. Rights belong to SyFy and Stephen King._

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He should not be shirtless around her, Audrey had decided. Duke Crocker was one of those annoying men who knew exactly how good they looked and weren't at all shy about it. On the other hand, Audrey was sure that Nathan probably wasn't even aware of his looks. It was Duke's irritating self confidence that drew Audrey to him, despite her best intentions and it was those feelings that had led her to accept his offer of a boat ride.

Being an FBI agent had taken up almost all of Audrey's free time and when she had managed to find a moment for herself she was usually too exhausted to do much more than watch movies from the comfort of her couch. It was different in Haven; there was fresh air, brilliant blue skies and the ocean lapping peacefully, at least mostly, nearby.

The day that Audrey and Duke set out from the small harbour was another one of these beautiful, clear days. It was warm too; hence Duke's shirtlessness and Audrey soon found she was shrugging out of her light jacket.

"Beautiful out today." Duke commented as he steered the boat carefully away from the dock.

Audrey nodded, not having left her seat on the wooden bench since Duke had unmoored them from the dock. It wasn't that she had a phobia or anything like that, and if she did she wouldn't have given Duke the satisfaction of admitting it, but she needed time to adjust to being on the water instead of the land.

"You look a little green, you okay?" Duke asked, but Audrey was almost convinced that the concern was more that he didn't want her to vomit in his boat rather than for her actual welfare.

"I'm great." She replied, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Duke just grinned and turned his attention back to steering the boat.

Pulling her shoulder length blonde hair into a ponytail, Audrey finally pushed herself up off the bench and went to stand beside Duke. The sky turning the sea an almost turquoise and the sun peeking out from behind the white clouds made Audrey glad all over again that she had decided to stay here.

"Wanna take the wheel?" Duke asked, enjoying watching her take in the scenery. He would never let on, but having her standing so close to him was a little distracting when he was trying to man the boat. It didn't help that he had seen her at her most vulnerable and he had seen more than his fair share of her lithe, curvy body.

"Sure," Audrey smiled, coming to stand in front of the wheel. Duke showed her where to put her hands and he stood behind her, guiding her as they made their way further out to sea.

Audrey supposed she should object to Duke's close proximity; should tell him to back off and that she could manage the steering all by herself. They were farther out to sea now and there were fewer boats out this far, so crashing into anything was unlikely. All the same, she liked being close to someone; feeling the heat from Duke's body pressing into her back. Haven was slowly becoming her home but it was still a little lonely, and although Nathan was a great guy they were still tentatively getting to know each other. Audrey thought it was a little ironic that the two men she had spent the most time with since arriving in Haven were polar opposites of each other.

"You're not bad at this, for a first timer." Duke commented and his praise wasn't at all grudging.

Audrey turned her head for a second to smile at him, suddenly disquieted by how close their faces were. She quickly resumed facing the ocean ahead, but not before Duke caught a glimpse of the blush that rushed to her cheeks. She didn't even bother to blame it on the sea breeze; she knew that Duke would not buy it. Audrey decided that it was definitely easier to be around Nathan, with him it was much easier to maintain her cool and not to act like an irrational, hormonal teenager.

With Duke's navigation, Audrey turned to boat in a lazy circle and they headed back to the harbour. She noticed that, when Duke wasn't making smart Alec comments, he was actually quite quiet. Most of the conversations that took place on their boat ride were instigated and maintained by her.

As Duke moored the boat at the harbour, and helped Audrey back to shore she saw Nathan approaching in the distance and threw a casual wave his way. With two interesting and mysterious men as well as the other odd goings on and finding about more about her mother, Audrey was convinced that life in small-town Haven would be anything but dull.

_Reviews are appreciated :)_


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